


Dear River Fairy

by rndbmnsay



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: AU, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Fairy, Fairy Lance, Fantasy, Interspecies Romance, Letters, M/M, Magic, River fairy Lance, klance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-25
Updated: 2017-12-14
Packaged: 2019-01-23 04:49:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12499128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rndbmnsay/pseuds/rndbmnsay
Summary: Keith is a human boy that lives next to a forest where he goes to escape reality and starts leaving letters to no one to let out his frustrations. One day a river fairy called Lance that lives in that forest, observes the human and reads the letters out of curiosity and concern. Lance knows that fairies aren't allowed to be seen by a human, but no one has told him not to answer their letters.





	1. A fresh flower

**Author's Note:**

> I'm really excited for this fic, I've been meaning to start posting this for ages and well, I hope you all enjoy it ❤

The sun was shining bright, and its rays were making their way between the branches of the trees. The singing of the birds plus the sound of the river flowing contributed in perfect harmony to the laughs of the two friends.

 

Lance was a river fairy. His skin was a perfect brown and golden tone with shiny blue spots adorning it. On his left arm could be seen a birthmark with the form of a wave, symbolizing that he belonged to the river fairies. His glowy blue eyes that allowed him to see both in the dark and inside the water matched perfectly with the bright stones and crystals he had picked from the river and meticulously placed on a band to adorn his brown and slightly curly hair. And to accompany his natural beauty, he wore sparkly blue clothes of different shades of blue and light blue jewelry that glowed in the dark.

 

Hunk was a light fairy. His skin was darker than Lance’s, but somehow shined like he was a literal ray of sun. Which Lance could actually believe as truth if someone told him so. On both of his arms, he had yellow almost white stripes, symbolizing that he belonged to the light fairies. His dark eyes, still producing the light worth of the sun matched the color of his hair, adorned by a sparkly band, which had the exact same colors as his clothes.

 

Although Lance and Hunk were from different clans, they’ve been the closest friends their whole lives. 

 

Right now both friends were playing by the river. His parents had forbidden Lance to play with his magic, but what they didn’t see wouldn’t kill them. 

 

Lance moved his body in circles as he extended his arms towards the river making the water flow out of it. Then with a quick movement of his hands, he shot the water directly at Hunk, who with his own magic was able to evaporate the water before it reached him. Creating a ball of gas that flew up to the sky. Both of them loved the reaction, and they could easily spend hours just doing this and staring at it.

 

Lance was repeating the movement, but when he threw the water, Hunk instead dodged it as his gaze suddenly locked on something not far from Lance was. The other boy approached curiously to where his friend was staring at, and he certainly couldn’t believe what he was seeing. In front of him stood a bunch of fresh untouched flowers.

 

Every flower came out of the ground with a white color and the same boring shape. It was the fairies’ work to give them color and a beautiful shape. 

 

Lance had only encountered a couple of them in his eighteen springs, but he never managed to turn them into something worth admiring. And now, right in front of him, there were none less than three of them, that meant three attempts.

 

“Hunk, please. You have to leave these to me. You already know how to turn flowers, I need to have my own.”

 

It was a tradition that when fairies turned their first flower, they’ll pick it up and conserve it next to the other flowers from the other members of their families. Lance was the only one in his family that didn’t have his own flower.

 

Hunk gestured at the flowers with a soft smiled as a sign that he was leaving them to Lance. With a grin on his face, he approached the flowers and started moving his hands around one of them as little drops of water escaped from his fingertips. The flower soaked and died. Lance frowned and moved to the next flower. He repeated his movements but with more care and more slowly than before. One of the petals started to turn blue, and at the excitement of it, Lance accidentally made a quick movement, soaking the flower once again. 

 

Suddenly a ray of sunshine blinded them both. Hunk looked directly at it and then turned to Lance.

 

“My mother is calling for me; I need to go.”

 

“Okay, I’ll stay here. I have one more chance.”

 

Hunk nodded and wished his friend good luck before walking away.

 

Lance took in a deep breath before placing his hands around the last flower. Closing his eyes, he moved his hands in circles with more care than he ever did. He started to feel water in his fingertips, but he remained calm with his eyes closed. Then he felt something that he never experienced before, like a warm breeze dancing around his fingers. He slowly opened his eyes to find the most beautiful flower he ever laid eyes on.

 

It had broad petals from different shades of blue, and the center of the flower was a perfect white circle. And the smell of it, Lance had never smelled something so fresh, it seemed like it opened his nostrils. 

 

Lance carefully reached for the flower and gently pulled it out of its place. When he was about to pack it in his pouch, a breeze pushed it out of his hands.

 

The flower landed on the river and was washed away with it. Lance started running next to the river. Moving his hands trying to mold the water and save the flower. But he was so nervous that he couldn’t get the movements right.

 

Suddenly the flower got stuck on a rock. Lance was about to reach for it, but then he noticed someone sitting by the river. He hid behind a tree and observed the stranger.

 

At first glance, Lance thought it was another fairy from a far away clan. But as he looked more closely at it, at him. He noticed that he was not wearing any color-coded clothes. In fact, his clothes were dull and a mix of black and red. The sight of it was disgusting. The next thing he noticed was his skin. It was pale, almost as white as snow. And it didn’t have any spots adorning it, not even a birthmark. And lastly his eyes. They didn’t have any kind of glow and were just simply of a dark color that Lance couldn’t identify from a distance, but they were somehow beautiful.

 

Lance thought long as he observed the strange creature. Then it hit him. Could this be? Lance was staring at a human. 

 

Since he was little, him and his siblings, as well as the rest of the fairies from different clans, were told not to get close or be seen by a human. Since they were known as the most dangerous creatures towards us fairies and our environment. 

 

The human seemed to be writing something, and as he did, his expression seemed rather sad. Lance couldn’t help but wonder what could have gone wrong for him. He looked so vulnerable and so far from threatening as his parents had told him humans were. 

 

The boy stopped writing and dried his eyes with his sleeve. Then he folded the piece of paper and left it inside a hole in a tree. What was he doing? He was polluting the forest. Then the human stood up and walked away from the river. 

 

When Lance was sure the human was long gone, he walked towards the tree and looked inside; there were more folded papers inside. He took them out and decided to read the one that seemed more recent. Lance felt strangely curious to know the reason why that human seemed that devastated. 

 

_ Dear forest, _

_ I know I am writing you quite a lot these days and I’m sorry for that. Even though you can’t even read this, I mean you’re just a bunch of trees. But no one listens better than you. _

 

_ Today I came back because my parents' fights got even worse. They said that moving here would change things for the better. But in my house, the air is only filled with screaming and insults.  _

 

_ Just half an hour ago I heard from my room what I think will be their last fight. This may sound good at first, but they sounded worse than ever. They were in the kitchen when all of this happened. They had the door closed, with that they thought I couldn’t hear them. I didn’t understand what they were saying, but their loud and desperate tones were evident.  _

 

_ When I felt on the verge of tears and ready to run here, I heard the kitchen’s door opening, so I froze and listened carefully.  _

 

_ I heard my mother’s angry steps moving towards their room. Then I listened to the closet and things breaking to the ground. When all the noises in my parents’ room stopped, my mother’s walking was heard again, this time towards the entrance door, then it closed shut, and she was gone. And I don’t think she’s ever coming back. _

 

_ I know this because I take after her, and going away is exactly what I would do if I were her. At the first sign of possible rejection or the slightest feeling of not being welcomed, I go. I guess that’s why I always struggled to make friends. The only exception was when I met Shiro. I’ve never felt more relaxed with someone, I could be myself with him, and he always assured me that he would always be there for me. And with him came Matt, a friend of his, accompanied by his sister Katie, who stuck with the nickname Pidge.  _

 

_ We four were inseparable, they were like a family to me. But then my parents decided it would be best to move out, to have a fresh start and I never saw my friends again.  _

 

_ Now with my mother gone, I’m all alone. My father’s still here, yes, but I never saw him as a friend, as someone to talk to or look up to. He lets me stay at the house and gives me food. That’s it. _

 

_ I can’t take this; I don’t want to be alone anymore. _

 

_ Keith. _

 

Lance stared at the letter. No wonder humans were considered the evilest creatures that walk the Earth. What they have done to this poor boy was disgusting. But a human being the victim of his own species sounded even worse than the tales of destruction Lance have heard about them; this was the peak of evil. He even felt bad for this poor soul.

 

Lance reread the signature.  _ Keith _ . It was a strange word. Was this how humans called their own species? It would make sense. Keiths sounded less threatening than the word humans. And everyone likes to believe they are the good side of the story. 

 

Lance read the same letter over and over again, scared to even touch the other ones and find out more horrible tales of this human’s life. 

 

_ I can’t take this; I don’t want to be alone anymore. _

 

That was the most painful line for Lance. It was a calling for help, and this poor thing was hopelessly screaming for it at no one. Lance’s heart shrank at the thought of the pain this human was going through. No one, not even one of this terrible creatures deserved this.

 

This left Lance wondering and reviewing his parents' warnings. They’ve told him not to be seen nor approach them. But they never said a thing about answering their letters. Lance could just leave a paper there for the human to find it and he won’t be seen.

 

Lance took out a clean piece of paper from the ones that the boy seemed to have stored in there next to large thing that Lance saw the human used to write. He picked it up and dragged it across the paper, the feeling was awful, and it stained much more than he had expected. Lance left the strange thing back in his place and instead took out his writing thorn from his pouch.

 

Lance would make sure this hopeless creature didn’t feel as alone anymore.


	2. The river fairy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter is okay ??

Keith woke up falling off his bed as every damn day since his parents decided to move here. His new room was much more smaller than the one he used to have. Thanks to this, now he has a more modest bed, and he still hasn’t got used to the lesser space to roll in bed.

 

He sat up on the floor and stretched; then he cracked every single joint that he could. Shiro hated when Keith did this. He would say that the sound of the poping made him shiver and add that Keith would get arthritis if he kept that up, but Keith knew that wasn’t true, he had informed himself. At that, Keith would stick his tongue out and crack another joint. If this happened when Pidge was present, she would crack her knuckles right next to Shiro’s ear, making him back away and glare at her. Then all of them would laugh together. 

 

Keith missed them so much.

 

He dressed up and opened his bedroom door. To his surprise, the air didn’t smell like pancakes or toast. Then it hit him. His mother was gone. Yesterday did happen.

 

Keith made his way downstairs and to the kitchen. As he expected, his father wasn’t even there. He searched through the cabinets for something to eat, finding a box of cereals. 

 

He poured some milk into a glass and then put the cereals inside. One time that Keith spent the night at Pidge and Matt’s house, when they saw him doing this, both brothers looked at him disgusted, saying that the cereals went first and then the milk. Keith thought they were being ridiculous and overdramatic.

 

The boy laughed to himself remembering that day, sadness striking seconds later at the realization that moments like that probably won’t happen again. He should really stop thinking about his friends.

 

Keith finished his breakfast and decided to search for his father. He found him outside working on his car. Keith approached his father, who didn’t even notice Keith until he spoke.

 

“Where is mom?”

 

His father glanced up from the car. “I don’t know.”

 

“Is she coming back?” 

 

Keith’s father rolled his eyes. “You’re not a kid, Keith. You already know the answer to that.”

 

Keith sighed and nodded. He just wanted to make sure. “Is she back at our old house?”

 

The man stood up and glared at Keith, speaking with a husky and slightly annoyed voice. “I just said that I don’t know where she is.” He turned around and looked at the car again. “Now go bring me tools, would you?” 

 

Keith crossed his arms. “What if I don’t? I don’t even want to be here; I want to be back at our old house, in town, with my friends! Not in this stupid old house in the middle of nowhere!”

 

“Then what are you waiting for? I won’t stop you. Go get a job, then buy your own car and go back. There get another job, more than one if you can while you spend a long time living in your car until you are able to buy a small apartment. If you manage to.”

 

Keith frowned and turned around. “I’ll go get your tools.”

 

“That’s what I thought.”

 

Keith did not bring his father the tools. In fact, he didn’t even go back inside the house. He made his way towards the forest, to his usual spot by the river.

 

Keith could not describe why being there felt so nice and calming. Apart from the fact that his father wasn’t there to bother him; he could feel something in the air, like it stroked him and sang quiet songs in his ears. He could feel something in the grass, how gentle it was to the touch and how green and healthy it looked like. In the river, the sound of the water crashing against the rocks made a weird yet harmonic noise, it didn’t sound natural, but it was one of the most soothing sounds Keith ever heard.

 

But where Keith could really spot the difference from natural parks in his hometown was in the flowers. Here the colors were so vibrant and beautiful with so many different shapes. It was like every flower in this forest was unique. The flowers back at the park next to his old house were so dull that Keith couldn’t even remember them.

 

This forest was the only good thing the new house brought him.

 

Thinking of flowers reminded Keith of the one he saw yesterday. It came along with the river and stopped on a rock right in front of him. It was the most beautiful one he had seen yet and stopping right in front of him felt like some kind of sign. He wasn’t sure what that meant though. 

 

Keith glanced at the rock, but the flower was no longer there. He sighed, he should have picked it up yesterday.

 

Keith reached the hole in the tree ready to write a letter to a forest like the idiot he is. That’s when he noticed; all his letters, everything that he wrote was gone, except for one. Could his father have found out about his letters? If that was true, he was more than doomed.

 

He picked up the letter and unfolded it. It was indeed one of his pieces of paper, but this was definitely not his or his father’s writing. It wasn’t even written with a pen; this wasn’t ink, what was it? Keith started to read the note.

 

_ Dear keith thing, _

_ I’ll start by saying, that I’m not like you, I am not a keith, I’m a fairy, more specifically a river fairy that lives in this very forest. We call your species humans, not keiths, that’s why I’ll start referring to you as human, it sounds more natural to me, I hope that’s okay. _

 

_ My species is not supposed to interact with yours because you humans are a danger to us and your surroundings. But unlike you, we are more compassionate beings so when I read your letters I couldn’t just do nothing. _

 

_ This letter is the reassurement that even if you think so; you are not alone. If you respect this forest and don’t try to search for me or the other fairies, the forest and I will keep you safe. I’ll even keep writing you if it helps you feel less lonely. If you don’t respect this place; you won’t be allowed to come here anymore. _

 

_ But I’m going to be even more generous with you, read closely;  _

_ Your human magic is way more different from fairies’ magic. I read about your species, your magic it’s somehow similar to light fairies’ magic, but it’s not as powerful, I think you call it electricity. You can understand from this that there are different types of fairies, but we share some things in common. One of them is the ability to create our own jewels to decorate our bodies. We can make them special.  _

 

_ And I made a special bracelet for you; it is limited though because a human should never be able to use this kind of object. But your soul looks so unhappy that I just couldn’t do nothing. _

 

_ The thing is; you can wish for something but just one thing per day, I hope this helps get you through, I can’t do more. _

 

_ Just one thing: you should never under any circumstances wish to see me or any of my kind, neither use it to hurt someone, whether it’s an animal, a plant or even another human. You break this rules, and you don’t even want to know what will happen to you. You’ve been warned. _

 

The letter wasn’t signed. River fairy? Keith looked around him searching for someone hidden, making fun of him. But he couldn’t see anyone. He frowned.

 

“Haha. So funny.” Keith thought he didn’t ever before sound so sarcastic as he just did. “Come out; I’m not that stupid to believe this shit.”   

 

Keith got no answer. He wanted to believe that Pidge, Matt, and Shiro were hiding somewhere, laughing silently. But he knew that wasn’t true, they were too far away and if they did come they wouldn’t just write a fake letter instead of going to see him. One thing was clear; whoever wrote it wasn’t there.

 

A fairy writing him a letter. Ha. Keith wasn’t that stupid. Whoever wrote it had a great imagination, he’ll give them that.

 

He read over the note once again. It said something about a bracelet. Keith looked inside the tree. Hidden in between the papers there was, in fact, a bracelet. It was blue but almost transparent at the same time; he couldn’t really tell what it was made of. He put it on his wrist, and it started to glow. Weird. Very weird.

 

Keith looked around once more and slipped the letter in his back pocket, completely forgetting about what he came to the forest in the first place. The letter served as enough distraction. Then he started to walk back to the house.

 

As soon as he entered he heard his father’s heavy steps getting closer to him. Oh shit. He’s probably mad at him about the tools incident, scratch that, he’s definitely mad at him knowing his temper. His father appeared, and he indeed looked angry. 

 

Keith suddenly remembered the bracelet. As much as he was convinced the letter was a prank, he held onto the bracelet as he closed his eyes and wished for his father not to be mad at him.

 

His father’s steps stopped. Keith opened his eyes to found his father standing still in front of him looking confused.

 

“Was I going to say something?”

 

Keith was so shocked that he couldn’t even mouth a response. He was frozen in the place. His father repeated himself bringing Keith out of his trance, and he quickly shook his head.

 

He looked down at the bracelet. The glow was gone. Did… did it actually work?

 

“I need to go; I think I left something outside.”

 

Keith ran out of the house and back to the forest, not even waiting for his father’s reaction. When he reached his spot by the river, he moved towards the tree, taking out a piece of paper and the pen. 

 

Fairy or not, Keith was writing back. 


	3. The bracelet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With Lance the fairy and Keith the human, the fun will never end, it's letter time! Lol sorry, hope you like the chapter ❤

Lance was hiding in the river, the only place he knew for sure that he wouldn't be seen. He wanted to see if the human read his letter, so he stayed there, waiting.

 

Eventually, the human appeared. He was wearing different clothes from yesterday, a white shirt and black trousers. Lance still couldn't understand how they boy wore such different colors together. It felt so wrong.

 

From the river, Lance could observe the human better than yesterday. His eyes were a dark blue that almost seemed violet. His hair was slightly longer than he thought yesterday, but just at the back, on the front, it was shorter. Lance thought that was a weird combination. It was also quite messy, do humans have combs? 

 

Lance kept observing the creature and thought about all the stories he have heard about humans. Before he saw this one, he pictured humans as something scary, something that you would never want to encounter. But Lance thought that the human in front of him was rather beautiful.

 

The human looked a bit angry today or bothered by something. Lance guessed that he only came here when he was not feeling well. Or at least he was feeling bad when he wrote all of those letters that Lance had spent almost all night reading. The human mostly wrote about how much he didn't stand his father and how much he missed his friends. Lance couldn't imagine being separated from Hunk.

 

The boy approached the tree where he kept the letters, most probably to write another. His expression instantly turned into confusion when he looked inside and took Lance's letter. The human began to read, and when he seemed to finish, he frowned. Why was he frowning? Lance wrote that to make him feel better; he shouldn't look like that.

 

The human looked around like he was searching for something. Maybe he was looking for Lance. Good thing he hid in the river.

 

“Haha. So funny. Come out; I’m not that stupid to believe this shit.” 

 

Lance's stomach turned at the sound of the boy's voice. He didn't think that the human’s voice would sound so deep and so… so pleasant to the ears. The only thing that bothered Lance when he heard the boy was that he didn't seem to believe the letter. He somehow felt wounded even though it made sense for the human not to believe in his existence.

 

When the human seemed convinced that there was no one there he turned to the tree again and looked inside. Lance guessed that the boy was searching for the bracelet he mentioned in the letter, and he was right. The boy took out the bracelet and stared at it. He seemed both surprised and very confused. He put the bracelet on and the letter inside his back pocket. Then he looked around one more time and left the forest. He simply left.

 

Lance first felt offended that the human didn’t bother to answer his letter then panic made his way to him. He just gave a magic bracelet that granted wishes to a human. He was so stupid. This could bring horrible things. Lance had said in the letter that if the human wished something to harm others or to see him or any other fairy that something terrible would happen. But that was a lie. Lance had no way to know if the human made a bad wish. Meaning there was no way to stop him if he wanted to make one of those wishes.

 

If his parents or other fairies found out about this, it could get him killed. Or worse. It can get him expelled from the forest. 

 

There is this old story used to scare the children and make them behave properly that says that if a fairy was away from his forest for an extended period of time, they would begin to lose their magic. And a fairy without their magic was no more than human. 

 

This old story also explained the dangerous behavior of humans. They were a threat to everything because they were the descendants of expelled fairies. Although no one can prove this was true. There haven't been any expelled fairies for centuries, and it wasn’t really proven that they were transformed into humans. And Lance didn’t want to discover the truth for himself.

 

Lance hoped for the human to believe the warning he had written in the letter and walked back to his home.

 

The entrance to his house was signaled by the first flowers that the members of his family created. With now, the addition of Lance's flower. His mother was very proud yesterday when he brought it home, even though it was all wet and with a broken petal. Lance had explained how the flower fell into the river, of course, he didn't mention a thing about the human.

 

Just when he was about to enter his house, Hunk's voice came from behind him.

 

“Hey, buddy! Where have you been? I've been searching for you.”

 

Lance turned around to look at his friend.”Hey, Hunk! I was just out for a walk.”

 

“A walk? Alone?”

 

“Yeah, clear my head and all that stuff, you know.”

 

Hunk didn't look convinced. He thought for a bit and then smirked. “Oh, I know, you were out searching for new flowers and create more.”

 

“Yup, you got me, that was exactly what I was doing.” 

 

As much as Lance trusted Hunk, he knew that he couldn’t let anyone know that he just wrote a letter to a human and gave them a magical bracelet. The more he thought about it, the more stupid he felt.

 

“Okay, that was a lie. What’s going on?”

 

Curse Hunk for being such an amazing friend that could even tell when Lance was lying. Lance looked down not knowing what to say or do.

 

“What were you doing to lie to me about it? I thought we shared everything.”

 

“It’s… I just can’t tell you… I’m so so sorry…”

 

Hunk sighed. “I can’t understand what were you doing alone who knows where that you can’t tell me. Wait. Were you even alone?”

 

Lance had been watching the human, did that mean that he wasn’t alone? The human didn’t even know that Lance was watching him.

 

“You took too long to answer so I guess you weren’t alone. Wait. Are you seeing someone?! Oh my, why didn’t you tell me so?!”

 

“Hunk no!”

 

“How much do you like them? Are you in love or is it just a crush?”

 

Was Hunk accusing him of being with a human? How dared he? The guy was beautiful, Lance could admit that, but he was  _ a human _ .

 

“I do not like him, Hunk, what the fuck?”

 

Hunk eyes opened wide, and then he smirked. “You said him, so that means there’s someone. Tell me who it is! Are you already dating? If not, can I help you pair up with him?”

 

“Please, Hunk, no.”

 

“Have you given him a gift? Gifts always help.”

 

That made Lance think about the bracelet he had given to the human. Filling him with panic again and the sudden urge of getting it back somehow. Maybe he could write the human another letter saying that he had given him the wrong bracelet and that it was poisonous.

 

“I have to leave!” And without further explanation, Lance began to go back to where he had seen the human.

 

“Go get him something nice!” Hunk yelled as Lance walked away from him as fast as he could. Lance decided to ignore that.

 

When he got there, he practically ran towards the tree to grab a piece of paper, but then he noticed something different. There was a letter inside, and it was definitely not his; the human took it with him. Could the boy had come here again to answer? There was only one way to know. Lance picked the paper up and unfolded it.

 

_ Dear… river fairy? _

 

_ First of all, I still don’t believe in the existence of fairies, but I’m going to play along because this is more entertaining that feeling sorry for myself through letters that I assume you’ve read. That wasn’t cool. But mostly because something weird happened. _

 

_ And second; the thing about us calling my species ‘keiths’, like, seriously? Why would I even sign a letter with the name of my species? We humans call ourselves humans. Keith is my name, don’t you have one of those? _

 

_ Coming back to the reason I’m answering you even if I still think this is some kind of joke. It’s about the bracelet you left inside the tree. You said it granted wishes and I think it worked? I wished for my father not to get mad at me, and when he was about to yell at me, it was like he suddenly forgot what he was about to say. And I know that my father doesn’t forget things out of the blue so… _

 

_ I still need to double check though; I'll make another wish tomorrow. If It turns out it really grants wishes, I promise I'll respect your warning and if it was just a coincidence and this whole thing is a prank you can stop laughing at me now. _

 

_ And one last thing, if you truly are a fairy or just someone pranking me, I guess you want me to believe that you really are a fairy. So I want you to convince me of it. Describe yourself physically and tell me about you. Maybe even do something with the water? You call yourself a river fairy, so I guess you can do something weird with it.  _

 

_ Just prove you are what you say you are. _

 

_ Keith (the human, Keith is my name.) _

 

The thing that most stayed with Lance after reading the human’s letter, or better said, Keith’s letter, because now Lance knew the boy’s name, was the fact that he will respect his warning. Maybe as he first thought when he saw him; this human wasn’t bad or not so bad.

 

Although it bothered Lance that Keith didn’t believe that he was a fairy, his petition for more information about Lance upset him even more. Could he really trust to tell a human about the fairy world when fairies had been successfully avoiding humans for centuries?

 

Then Lance came to the realization that he was already in too deep. He even had given him the bracelet. And maybe if he told him a bit about himself; he could ask Keith to do the same. That way he could compare the beliefs that fairies had about humans with the reality of them, and maybe he could even prove that not all humans were dangerous. Plus, Lance would be lying if he said he didn’t want to know what secrets such beautiful creature held.


	4. A real fairy

It was late at night, and Keith was in bed looking at the bracelet on his wrist. Usually, he wouldn't sleep with any accessory on, but he was somehow scared that if he took it off it will disappear. 

 

He hid his hand in the sheets trying to avoid thinking about the fairy. All he wanted to do right now was run into the forest and see if the fairy had answered to his letter. But it was two in the morning, and Keith didn't think that the fairy would have returned. He'll go tomorrow after he had eaten.

 

Waiting was horrible. It wasn't even a text that you could check anytime you wanted. It was a letter, and Keith had to move to see if there was even a response. Do fairies even had phones? That made him think of his friends; they were probably awake now.

 

**Keith:** Guys do you think fairies have phones?

 

He left his phone back on his desk only to buzz instantly when he got back to his bed.

 

**Pidge:** That's it, he lost it

**Matt:** HAHAHAH

**Shiro:** Keith???

**Matt:** I would believe Keith asking about mothman having a phone but fairies was a surprise

**Keith:** Why would I ask that? Mothman definitely has a phone

**Pidge:** Yeah, haven't you seen the movie? He calls the guy a couple of times

**Matt:** My bad

**Shiro:** Why are you asking about fairies though?

**Keith:** Why not?

**Matt:** If you find the answer let me know, I would absolutely text a fairy

 

Keith chuckled to himself and left the phone back on his desk. He tried to sleep with now a smile drawn on his face.

 

When Keith woke up the next morning, falling off the bed, as usual, he went downstairs, but he couldn't find his father anywhere. He wasn't even in his room. Weird.

 

Not giving much thought to it, he went to the kitchen and ate breakfast. Cereals because there wasn't anything more. 

 

Right after he finished, he heard the front door opening. Then his father’s voice, but he was obviously not talking to Keith. The realization of his father talking to someone else sent shivers down Keith's spine. What if he had brought another woman that wasn't his mom here? 

 

Keith instantly got up and went towards the door with a frown ready on his face. But to his surprise, Keith saw a dog instead of a woman, a huge dog. When Keith stared at the dog, it growled at him and then started to run towards him. Keith ran away from the dog as fast as he could. His father caught the dog right before it jumped on Keith.

 

“He doesn’t like strangers.” His father explained as he pet the dog’s head.

 

“Why did you bring that?! It seems to hate me!” 

 

“I told you he doesn't like strangers. But he'll get used to you being around.”

 

Keith frowned. “What if I don't get used to the dog being around?”

 

“Then bad for you because he's staying.”

 

Keith didn't say anything more and went back to his room. He checked his phone. He had no messages. Maybe he could go now to see if the fairy had answered him. No. It was too soon to go. He had to give them time to reply.

 

Keith laid down on his bed and continued to read a comic. Around half an hour later he heard scratching on his door. The dog. Keith thought of not opening the door. But maybe he should give the dog another chance. Keith opened the door and was met by the same angry dog from before growling at him and in less than a second the dog tried to bite Keith's leg. He was somehow able to avoid it and ran downstairs. The dog ran behind him.

 

Keith ran outside in hopes that the dog won't follow him, but it did. Not knowing where else to go, Keith ran towards the forest. Moving around trees and jumping above some rocks gave Keith some advantage on the dog. But soon he reached the river, and even though Keith was very agile, he couldn't jump over it. 

 

He turned around to look at the dog; maybe he can push it away. Just when the dog was about to jump on Keith, a vast sphere made of water floated from behind Keith and crashed on the dog. 

 

Keith froze not sure if he had imagined that. But the dog was clearly all wet. The dog shook his whole body and prepared to jump again. Another sphere of water made it onto the dog before it could do anything. After that, the dog let out a scared cry and ran away from Keith.

 

Keith instantly turned around but there was no one behind him, and the river seemed as calm as always. He was sure no human or animal could do anything like what he just witnessed. But a river fairy probably could.

 

He looked all around him, but there was no sign of anyone or anything being there. 

 

“Are you here?” Keith asked not knowing where to look. But there was no answer. 

 

He approached the river and examined it closely. The water was so clear that he could see the little fish swimming around and the colorful rocks at the bottom of it. If there was anything in it, Keith would see it. But he couldn't see anything.

 

Keith kept looking, and then he noticed it. There was a spot on the water where the water didn't move and where the little fish didn't pass through.

 

“You're there…” Keith muttered more to himself than to the fairy. 

 

Keith extended his arm to reach that spot on the water but stopped right before touching it. Maybe the fairy wouldn’t like that. Instead, Keith sat down at the edge of the river without taking his eyes off that spot.

 

“Thank for getting that dog away from me.” 

 

There was still no answer, and Keith started to wonder if there was really something there, maybe things like that were normal in a river, and now he was just talking to water. But he saw water shooting at the dog in a not so natural way; the fairy had to be somewhere.

 

Keith reached for the bracelet and thought about wishing for the fairy to show themselves. But then he remembered the warning and decided not to wish for that.

 

“Stop being so silent; I know you're there.” Keith tried again, and this time something did happen. Although it wasn't a voice like Keith wanted, suddenly water was splashed to his face.

 

“Hey! I didn't ask for that!” Keith said as he wiped the water from his face. But when he was done he looked again at the river and water moved everywhere. The fairy had really been there, but now they were gone.

 

Keith sighed and stood up. At least that was something. Now he was sure the letters spoke the truth, there was really a fairy writing him. How cool was that? 

 

That thought made Keith run towards the tree and look if the fairy had answered him. There was indeed a letter there. Keith quickly picked it up. He hadn't been this excited in a long time.

 

_ Dear Keith, _

_ I'm sorry about the confusion with your name; I was amazed at finding a human, so I guess I overanalyzed. And answering your question; yes, I do have a name. It's Lance. _

 

_ You also asked if I could talk about myself. Well, I don't know if I should, I am not supposed to get near a human. Humans are believed to come from somewhat special creatures that I prefer not to tell you about, but let's say they weren't nice and you humans are supposed to be worse. Although when I look at you, I don't sense any evil aura. _

 

_ With that, I want to say that if you want me to talk about myself, you should too. That way I can learn more about your species and see if what you say matches with our beliefs about you, plus see if there's a possibility that not all humans are evil. But keep in mind that if you have any bad intentions, fairies can be really dangerous if we want. _

 

_ I’ll start by talking about my appearance; I think that you are intrigued with what I look like, and it's also the safest thing for me to talk about. And by the way, you don't need to describe yourself; I already saw you. _

 

_ We look somehow alike. I think we're almost the same size; maybe I'm a bit taller. You seem about my age. Are you eighteen springs old?  _

 

_ Your skin color is quite pale next to mine; I have tanned skin. Although fairies can also have your skin color, but it's rare. I also have blue marks all over my body, a thing I've noticed you don't. Plus a wave tattoo on my arm symbolizing I'm a river fairy. We get out tattoos in our very day of birth. _

 

_ About your hair, it seems quite reasonable to me, any fairy can have the same hair as you, but the haircut is a bit weird. Mine is shorter and brown. Not much to say about it. _

 

_ Then about the eyes, yours really caught my attention. I mean they're like mine, although mine are of a lighter blue color. But yours don't seem to have any kind of glow. Do you even see well with those?  _

 

_ Lastly, I don't like the clothes you wear. You wear different colors every day and on the same day. That seems unnatural. I always wear blue, various shades of blue. That color is because I'm a river fairy. For example, my friend, a light fairy, wears yellow clothes. And seeing you with those mixes of colors is uncomfortable. _

 

_ Anyway, I hope knowing my appearance had satisfied you a bit. _

 

The letter, again, wasn't signed. But Keith now knew his name. Lance.

 

Keith didn't really expect the fairy’s description like this. Lance was his size? Keith thought that he would be a tiny thing with wings. The letter didn't even mention wings.

 

He sat again next to the river and extended his arm to reach the spot where Lance had been. The water was slightly warmer than the usual. He wondered if Lance could make himself invisible or maybe it was just river magic? Would Lance answer if he asked about it?

 

Keith stood up and tried to picture a boy slightly taller than him with tanned skin, short brown hair and blue glowy eyes. He hoped that one day he'd be able to see him. But for that Keith needed to gain his trust. Keith wasn't going to do him any harm; he needed to prove that he was a good person.

 

So Keith walked back towards the tree and took out a piece of paper and a pen. He needed to think well what he should write to make himself sound nice without lying.

 

Should he also ask him if he had a phone?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't planning on getting this reaction when I wrote this so I lowkey hope it wasn't the same for you but I laughed so hard imagining Keith getting chased by a dog ANYWAY I hope you enjoyed this chapter ❤


	5. My forest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so happy everyone thinks this is cute ❤

Lance made sure no one could see him leaving and then made his way to the spot near the river where Keith usually is. For some reason, Lance was really nervous and wanted to see what Keith had answered as soon as possible. But when he arrived there, there was no sign of the human and Lance's letter was still inside the tree. He should have waited more time.

 

Suddenly Lance heard footsteps approaching extremely fast. Was that Keith? Was he running? Not giving much thought to it, Lance quickly hid in the river before being seen. That was when Keith appeared. Running as he had guessed. And he seemed to be followed by an angry looking dog.

 

Lance knew that dogs were close to humans for some reason. But unlike them, dogs were nice animals. He even heard that dogs had also rescued humans on many occasions. But what Lance was seeing now was quite the opposite.

 

Keith stopped right in front of the lake and turned around towards the dog that seemed to want to hurt the human. Lance had to do something.

 

And he did. He threw a ball of water towards the dog and then another one until the animal ran away scared. Lance felt terrible for that, but if he hadn't done that Keith would have gotten hurt. And that seemed even more unacceptable. 

 

When the dog was gone. Keith turned around and looked everywhere. Probably searching for him.

 

“Are you here?” Keith asked looking at nowhere. Lance felt himself shiver; he knew he was talking to him. But he couldn't answer, he shouldn't.

 

Keith got near the river and looked all over it. Then his eyes stopped right on Lance. Lance swallowed. He knew Keith couldn't see him if he was hidden there. But he also knew that if he looked close enough, he could guess where Lance was and it seemed like he did.

 

“You're there…” Keith said looking straight at him. Lance had never seen him this close before, and his eyes on him and his words directed at him with that nice voice of him made Lance feel something warm inside his chest. 

 

Keith suddenly extended his arms towards him, and Lance froze. It was bad enough that he knew that Lance was there. But Keith stopped right before reaching him. Lance sighed in relief and then Keith sat down at the edge of the river still looking at him or at least to where he was. It felt nice having him this close.

 

“Thank for getting that dog away from me.” Keith said as a soft smile appeared on his face. A smile meant for Lance. The warm feeling in his chest wouldn't leave and was growing towards his face. He wanted to answer, but he knew he shouldn't.

 

“Stop being so silent; I know you're there.” Lance couldn't take it anymore. The sound of his voice and the constant staring were making Lance feel weird. He needed to leave now.

 

So he did the only thing that came to his mind. Lance splashed water towards Keith's face, and as soon as the boy closed his eyes, Lance swam away as fast as he could.

 

When he was far away enough from Keith, he got out of the river and laid down on the grass. That was a ride.

 

“Lance?” Hunk’s head came into view, and Lance sat up. “Where were you?”

 

“Nowhere. Just out for a walk.”

 

Hunk frowned and sat down next to Lance. “You were swimming like crazy, like if you were running from something.” Lance looked away and said nothing. “Lance, please. You have to tell me what you’re up to; I’m starting to get worried.”

 

Lance knew he could trust Hunk, but he was scared of how he would react if he told him about the human. But looking at the worried look on his friend’s face, he knew he had to tell him.

 

“There’s… There’s this place near the river where a human boy goes everyday…”

 

“A what?! Lance, are you crazy? Please tell me he hasn’t seen you, please.”

 

“He hasn’t. Don’t worry.”

 

Hunk sighed in relief but a second later panic was back in his eyes. “You can’t go back there again. Are you aware of the danger you were in?”

 

“I can’t just stop going! He’s in pain Hunk; he needs me.”

 

Hunk’s expression remained scared, but a bit of confusion was added to it. “What do you mean he needs you? You said he didn’t see you.”

 

“And he didn’t. We… We, well, we write letters to each other…”

 

Hunk looked even more scared now. “You made contact with a human?! Why would you do that?! Don't you see the danger you're in right now?!”

 

“Stop saying I’m in danger. I know he won't hurt me. He seems really nice; maybe I could prove that not all humans are dangerous.”

 

Hunk sighed. “Lance, you know I always have your back. But this doesn't seem like a good idea.”

 

“If I think something bad is going to happen I will back away. I promise.” 

 

“Okay, I'll trust you. But I still think it is a bad idea.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

Hunk laid down on the grass and Lance did the same. They talked about trivial things, both avoiding talking about the human, until Hunk decided it was time to go. Lance instead of going back home decided to go check if Keith had answered his letter. Thing that Hunk didn't approve, but he didn't try to stop Lance.

 

Lance used the river to go there just in case Keith was still there. And he was.

 

Keith was sitting on the ground with a piece of paper on a rock in front of him, writing. Suddenly he stopped and looked over to where Lance was.

 

“Lance?”

 

Lance froze and felt all of his insides turn upside down at Keith's voice saying his name.

 

“I didn't know you'll be back so soon. I'm almost finished.” Keith said and looked at him, or better said at the spot in the water where Lance was. Keith seemed like he was waiting for an answer but when Lance said nothing he continued writing.

 

A few minutes later Keith stood up and left the letter in front of the river instead of in the tree. 

 

“Can I ask you something before I go?” Keith looked at the river, but Lance made no effort in answering him. Then Keith searched for something in his pocket and took something that had a rectangular shape. Lance couldn't tell the material it was made off or what it was.

 

“This is a phone. It's used to write and talk. For example, if you write something on this one, a friend even if they're far away, can read what you wrote on their own phone. Do you fairies have this?”

 

Lance observed the strange item. From what Keith had said it sounded like technology; human's magic. And it sounded useful. Everything would be easier if fairies had those too.

 

Keith was waiting for an answer again. It made Lance feel bad. It was unfair if you thought about it, Lance could see and hear Keith, but for Keith Lance was just something in the water that he couldn't see or hear. Keith sighed.

 

“You can answer in your next letter if you want.”

 

“We don't.”

 

Keith almost dropped the phone and looked at the river with his eyes opened wide. Lance noticed how Keith's face turned into a light shade of red. Do humans blush too?

 

“O-Okay.”

 

Lance talking seemed to make the human nervous or even embarrassed. Lance couldn’t help but chuckle at his reaction, and Keith apparently heard him because his face turned even redder. Lance thought that this human wasn’t only beautiful in his own weird way, but that he could also be cute.

 

“I’ll leave you to read. Bye, Lance.” With that, Keith turned around and walked away quickly.

 

When Lance was sure that the human was gone, he stepped out of the river and picked up the letter. It was getting quite late, so he decided to read it later in his room. He chose to travel using the river again; it was faster than walking.

 

When he arrived at his house every member of his family was there, and they all turned silent as they looked at him with worried eyes. Then he noticed Lotor, prince of the forest, sitting there with his family, but his look was angry instead of worried. Lance knew that nothing good was going to happen.

 

“What’s that in your hand?” His mother said like she was afraid to ask, pointing at the letter in Lance’s hand. 

 

Lance froze. “Nothing important.”

 

“Is that another letter from the human?” This time it was his father who asked. How could he know about that? Lance was sure that Hunk would never say anything.

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” No one seemed to believe him. His mother looked even more scared. Then Lotor stood up and walked towards Lance.

 

“Then you wouldn’t mind showing it to me.”

 

Lance backed away from him as he hid the letter behind his back. He couldn’t let Lotor take it. For some reason, Lotor seemed pleased at that.

 

“Your family found the other letters in your room and reported them to me.” 

 

_ And this is the moment when I wake up _ . Lance thought. Such thing couldn’t be happening. His mother spoke again; this wasn’t a bad dream.

 

“Lance, we had to. You aren’t aware of the danger you’re in. Humans can’t be trusted.”

 

Lance started to hyperventilate. “But this one is different! I am not in danger!”

 

Lotor walked next to Lance’s mother and spoke. “You didn’t only put yourself in danger, you put all of us fairies of this forest, including your family. You didn’t only make contact with a human, action which is horrible enough; you also gave a human a magic bracelet, do you even know what could be the consequences to that?”

 

“I’m telling you that human means no danger!” Lance’s whole body was shaking by this point.

 

“My prince, I promise you we’ll watch him closely, we’ll make sure he doesn’t approach that human again.” His mother said, but Lotor shook his head.

 

“No, your son’s crimes cannot go without any punishment. What he has done hasn’t happened in centuries and it’s one of the most horrible and dangerous things a fairy can do.”

 

Lance swallowed, and his mother opened his eyes widely as tears started to form in her eyes, both of them anticipating what was about to happen.

 

“No! Please! We’ll do anything! But please don’t take my baby away from me!”

 

Lotor completely ignored Lance’s mother pleading, and Lance just couldn’t bring himself to even make a sound. 

 

“Lance is no longer allowed to stay in my forest.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was at this moment Lance knew he fucked up.
> 
> Dude the last part of this chapter was very hard to write.


	6. Glowing trees

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not really sure if I like this chapter but the friend that reads them before I post anything says she likes it so idk

**Keith:** Guess who don't have phones

**Matt:** You

**Shiro:** Matt he's texting us

**Pidge:** Let me guess

**Pidge:** Fairies

**Keith:** Yup

**Matt:** Told you Shiro

**Shiro:** He was talking to Pidge…

**Pidge:** And where did you get that information??

**Keith:** It's confidential

**Shiro:** ????

 

Keith chuckled to himself and left his phone charging before going to bed. It was difficult to sleep tonight too. Lance's voice was playing on repeat like a broken record in his head. He just couldn't stop thinking about the fact that the fairy talked to him. And his voice sounded so lovely, and at the same time, it sounded like a normal boy his age.

 

Also, he was there when Keith finished the letter so the most probable thing was that Keith would have Lance's answer when he wakes up the next morning. He was extremely nervous, but he managed to fall asleep.

 

Next morning when he woke up he didn't fall from bed, and with a smile on his face, he ran downstairs to have breakfast.

 

Keith felt so excited today that he expected something new to eat. But there was only cereal as usual, not that he complained.

 

As soon as he finished he went towards the door, seeing the dog on his way there, who looked at Keith and ran away from him. Keith smiled to himself at that.

 

When he reached the spot in the forest, he was hoping that Lance was there, hiding in the river. So he checked the river before taking the letter, but Lance wasn't there.  _ Too soon for him _ Keith guessed. 

 

Keith went towards the tree only to find there was no letter from Lance. And Keith's letter was nowhere to be found either, so that meant that Lance read it. Why hasn't he answered? 

 

He started to get anxious thinking that he didn't like what he wrote or that Lance regretted talking to him and now he didn't want to see Keith again.

 

Keith sat next to the river and tried to calm himself. Maybe he just took the letter home to read and will answer soon. Yeah, that had to be it. So he sat there waiting for Lance to come.

 

Hours passed, but Lance didn't come. Keith was now laying on the grass. His phone had buzzed a couple of times during the morning, but he was too focused on watching the river for any sign of Lance that he didn't bother answering his texts.

 

More time passed, and Keith started to get hungry. Maybe when he finishes eating and comes back to the forest again he would have an answer from Lance. So he stood up and walked towards his house.

 

When he arrived there, his father looked at him.

 

“Where had you been all morning?”

 

“Making myself one with nature.”

 

Keith's father looked a bit confused, but didn't say anything more. The dog observing Keith at his father's feet but didn't attempt to get closer to him.

 

Keith went to the kitchen and made himself a hamburger. He ate it quickly, and when he was done he got out of the house. His father saw him leaving, but didn't question him.

 

He practically ran towards the river. No sign of Lance being there and no sign of any letter either. Keith sighed and sat down next to river again. Maybe Lance was just busy today.

 

His phone kept buzzing during the whole day, but he couldn't bring himself to check what their friends wanted, the only thing in his mind right now was the letter that didn't come and the reason why.

 

Suddenly an idea crossed his mind. Keith looked at the bracelet Lance had given him. It seemed to work when his dad got mad the other day, but he knew he shouldn't wish to see Lance, so instead, he wished to know the reason why Lance hadn't answered. The bracelet stopped glowing. Did that mean that it worked?

 

Suddenly the tree where they usually leave the letters started glowing. Keith, confused, approached it but as soon as he got close to it, the glowing stopped only to appear in another tree not far from him. The same happened when Keith got near it. Keith instantly understood what was happening; the glow was leading him towards something.

 

He continued following the trees until he was out of the forest. There rocks where what glowed to lead him the way.

 

Keith kept walking for about twenty minutes until nothing more glowed. Keith looked around to see why he had ended there and his heart skipped a beat at what he saw.

 

Sitting in the shadow of a huge rock a boy was looking down and hugging his knees. The boy was about Keith's age with short brown hair, tanned skin with some blue marks and all dressed in blue. Keith felt his heart beating faster; that had to be Lance.

 

Lance seemed upset and lost in his thoughts, but Keith couldn't move towards him. What if he thought he had wished to see him? Keith just asked for a reason, that wasn't prohibited, was it? Keith sighed and approached him slowly. Keith stopped right in front of him and swallowed.

 

“Lance…?”

 

The other boy lifted his head to look at Keith. The fairy was even more beautiful than Keith had imagined. The only things that seemed out place were his dry lips and his sad eyes that got a glimpse of surprise as soon as he recognized Keith but lacked the glow Lance talked about in his letter. If it wasn't for the blue marks on his skin, he could be human.

 

“Water.” That was the only thing that Lance said.

 

“Did you got lost? I could lead you back to the river.” Keith suggested trying not to show how much he was freaking out. But Lance shook his head.

 

“Not the forest.”

 

“Where then?” Keith asked this time a bit confused. Lance just shrugged. 

 

“The only other place where I could give you water is my house, but that's probably not an option for you.” Keith said hoping Lance would explain anything, but he didn't. Lance was clearly a bit scared about Keith's suggestion, but he didn't say no.

 

Keith extended his arm towards Lance to help him get up, trying to stop shaking. He couldn't recall a moment when he had been as nervous as he was right now.

 

“Can you stand up?”

 

Lance reached for Keith’s hand and held it tightly as he stood up. The sudden contact made a weird feeling travel through Keith's whole body. Lance didn't let go of Keith's hand when he was already up.

 

Keith tried to ignore that feeling and started to walk. The way to Keith's house was silent with Keith glancing from time to time at their interlocked hands.

 

Keith decided to enter through the back door, so his father didn't see Lance. He brought him to his room, and there he pointed to his bed.

 

“You can lay down there; I'll go get you some water.” 

 

Lance approached the bed without letting go of Keith's hand.

 

“I need my hand.” 

 

Lance finally let go of Keith's hand and laid down without a word. Keith could still feel the warmth of Lance's hand. He then went to the kitchen and came back with a bottle of water. Lance sat up and took the bottle, drinking all of it.

 

“More.”

 

Keith nodded and brought another bottle. This time Lance only drank half of it.

 

“Are you hungry?”

 

Lance nodded so Keith went back to the kitchen and searched for something Lance could eat. He supposed that Lance could eat the same things as him, so he prepared some instant noodles and went back to his room.

 

“I usually eat this with chopsticks, but it’ll be easier for you to eat it with this.” Keith said as he handed him the noodles and a fork. Lance looked at them with a disgusted face.

 

“Are these some type of worm or root?”

 

Keith couldn't help a laugh, but Lance didn't seem to find it funny. “Those are noodles. Not an insect or animal or anything like that. Try them, they taste good.”

 

Lance looked unsure but grabbed the fork and ate some. He seemed to like them because he continued eating at a great speed. 

 

When Lance finished eating Keith sat next to him. He couldn't help but observe him more closely. That's when he noticed he had pointy ears.

 

“Stop looking at me like I'm a strange item.”

 

“I was just thinking that you look like a human but more beautiful.”

 

Lance seemed surprised by that response, and there was a light blush on his cheeks. But he quickly looked away and seemed to be examining the room.

 

“So… What were you doing out of the forest? And why didn't you want to go back?”

 

Lance looked at him but didn't answer.

 

“You can trust me, I promise. Did anything happen?”

 

Lance sighed but didn't meet Keith's eyes when he spoke. “I was expelled from the forest.”

 

“What? Why?”

 

“For talking to a human.”

 

Keith instantly felt the guilt running through his whole body. If it wasn't for their letters, Lance could still be there. With his family and friends.

 

“Stop thinking that. You're not the blame; it was my choice to talk to you.”

 

“You can read minds?”

 

Lance snorted. It was the first time Keith saw a small smile on the other boy's face. “No, silly, you were just being obvious.” 

 

Before Keith could answer his phone started buzzing, this time with a call. That made Lance move away from Keith as he glared at Keith's pocket.

 

“It's just my phone; I told you about it yesterday.” Keith said as he took the phone out of his pocket and showed it to Lance. “A friend is calling me.”

 

After that, he looked at the phone himself. Shiro was calling him.

 

“Keith? Oh thank god, you answered.” Shiro sounded relieved.

 

“Why? Is something wrong?”

 

“That's what I wanted to ask you. You always talk a lot in the group chat, and today you haven't said a thing.”

 

“Is it only that? I've just been busy, don't overthink things.”

 

“Busy with what? You don't have class right now and always complain about not having anything to do.” Why the heck was Shiro interrogating him like that just because he didn't talk today?

 

“Well, I found something.”

 

“And what is that?”

 

“Um…” Keith looked around trying to find an excuse; he couldn't tell him about Lance. But his eyes stuck on the ball of water floating around his room. “Shit. Sorry, we'll talk later.” And with that Keith hung up before Shiro could say anything more.

 

“What are you doing?!”

 

Lance jumped, and the water spread all over the floor.

 

“Sorry.” With a quick movement of Lance's hands, the water went back inside the bottle. “I was trying to see if I could still do that.”

 

“What are you going to do now? It's getting late.”

 

“Well… I can't go back to the forest.”

 

“Isn't there something we can do so they let you back in again?”

 

Lance looked down. “Don't think so…”

 

“We'll come up with something. You’ll go back, I promise. Meanwhile you can stay here.”

 

“Thank you.” 

 

“But we have to do something in case my father sees you.”

 

Lance looked at him confused, and Keith went to his parents' room and searched for makeup similar to Lance's skin tone. When he got it, he went back with Lance.

 

“I'm going to cover up your blue marks with this.” Lance didn't protest and let Keith apply the makeup. “And about the ears…” Keith searched for a cap and put it on Lance. “Yeah, that'll do. I'll give you some clothes tomorrow; you can sleep with yours. And of course, you can take the cap off to sleep.”

 

“I'd rather keep it on just in case.” With that Lance laid on the bed next to the wall. 

 

Keith took some pyjamas and went to the bathroom to change his clothes. When he came back, he laid down as far from Lance as the small bed left him. 

 

But suddenly Lance pulled one of Keith's arms and extended it over the bed. Keith, confused, let him. Then Lance laid down on top of it and pulled Keith's other arm over him, making Keith embrace Lance.

 

“For protection.” With that, Lance closed his eyes and Keith blushed deeply; this was going to be a long night.


	7. My Fairy Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost all of this chapter is written in the train because for some reason I get more inspired to write there than in my house ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

When Lance woke up, he didn’t open his eyes, already knowing that he wouldn’t be greeted by his room. But he felt a bit better as he noticed Keith’s arms were still around him. Lance still believed that Keith was a good person, even more after yesterday, he gave Lance water and food plus he let him rest in his house. And Lance was sure that Keith would protect him from anything dangerous in the human world, that’s why he would stick close to him until Lance finds some way to get back to the forest. 

 

If he ever does.

 

Suddenly Lance heard whispering, and he was sure that wasn’t Keith. Lance slowly opened his eyes to find three humans staring at him. Two of them look almost identical, but one was much smaller than the other and the third one look nothing alike them, he had black hair with a white strip on the front and was way more muscular than the other two.

 

“Keith!”

 

Lance sat up as he pulled Keith up with him and hid behind him. Keith still half asleep took a moment to react but stayed in place for Lance to continue hiding from the three humans.

 

“Guys...? What are you doing here?”

 

“We were worried about you, so we decided to visit.” Lance couldn't see who spoke, but the voice was deep and calm. Lance imagined that it was the big guy talking.

 

“We wouldn't have come if you simply had told us about your boyfriend.” That sounded more feminine than the first one. Lance guessed that it was the younger sibling speaking. But did she just called Lance  _ Keith's boyfriend _ ? He thought humans only had relationships with the opposite sex.

 

“Yeah, why keep this juicy detail from us?” And that had to be the older sibling. “But why is he hiding? Is he shy? Hey, Keith's boyfriend! I don't bite!” Was he talking to Lance? He grabbed to the folds at the back of Keith's shirt, not wanting to answer.

 

“Yes, he is shy so stop that, Matt.” Matt? That name rang a bell on Lance. Keith's letters. These were the friends Keith won't stop missing.

 

“We have a room at a hotel in the nearest town. Maybe we can explore the town together and get to know him? It would be a pity to come here and not spend time with you.” The big guy again, that if Lance remembered Keith's letter correctly, his name had to be Shiro.

 

“Um… I'm just… Maybe right now isn't a good time to hang out…” Keith was denying spending time with his friends just because of Lance, and he couldn't stop the guilt from filling his whole body.

 

“It's okay.”

 

“Oh, he speaks!” That was Matt again. “Ouch! Shiro, what the fuck? That hurt!”

 

Keith turned to look at Lance with worried eyes. Lance only nodded in return. Keith was good, not a dangerous human, that meant that his friends should be too, right? They seemed nice when Keith wrote about them.

 

Keith fixed in place the cap that Lance had forgotten he was wearing and stood up.

 

“I'll lend you some clothes.” With that, Keith stood up leaving Lance exposed to the three humans who were looking right at him.

 

Keith took some clothes out and left them on the bed. Then he walked back to Lance with different ones and handed them to him. 

“Put on these; we'll leave the room.”

 

Lance quickly shook his head. “You stay.”

 

Keith seemed unsure for a moment but then turned to his friends. “Privacy, please? We need to change clothes.” With that, the three humans left the room closing the door behind them.

 

“Lance, I'm so sorry I didn't know they'll show up.”

 

“It's okay. I'm the one that shouldn't be here.”

 

Keith sighed. “Maybe this isn't as bad as it seems. I've been thinking, and I was going to take you to town anyway. We can go to the library; there are plenty of kids’ books that talk about fairies and how nice they are, in other words, that those books show that humans don't mean to hurt fairies. Would that help you?”

 

“I'm not sure… It's something at least…” 

 

Keith nodded. “Put on those clothes; I'll turn around.” With that, Keith turned around, and Lance got dressed, then they changed roles. Keith then applied more makeup on Lance, and he looked at himself in the mirror.

 

“I look weird. I don't like it.”

 

“I know, and I'm sorry. But you have to look human; it'll make things easier.”

 

Lance nodded. Keith was right, and Lance was grateful that he didn't tell his friends that Lance wasn't human.

 

They got out of the room, and the three humans looked at Lance. Nervous, he held onto Keith's hand.

 

“We haven't been introduced; my name’s Shiro.” Shiro extended his arm towards Lance for a handshake. Lance looked at the guy’s hand and noticed it wasn't made of flesh, so he backed away and decided not to shake his hand. Shiro seemed hurt at that, and it instantly made Lance feel bad.

 

“Lance. And I don't like handshakes.”

 

“Oh, okay. Sorry.”

 

The two humans said their names too and waved at Lance instead of approaching him.

 

“I brought my car; there's enough space for the five of us, so let's get breakfast in town, I'll pay.”

 

They went out through the back door to avoid Keith's father again and then it turned out that a car was similar to the carts fairies used to carry their food. But cars were more prominent and more weird looking.

 

Lance sat in the back of the car between a window and Keith. During the car ride, Lance let go of Keith's hand to look better through the window. And Keith was staring at him the whole time, even when he was talking to his friends, Lance just pretended that he didn't notice.

 

“It's weird that my father let you guys in.”

 

Matt laughed. “Who says that he did?”

 

“Yeah, your father obviously heard us knocking, but didn't bother coming to the door. So we went to the back one and put in practice the time Matt and I learned to pick locks out of boredom.”

 

“Why am I not surprised?”

 

Shiro then spoke without taking his eyes off the window or his hands from the wheel that Lance guessed was to choose where the car was going. “In my defense, I was not in favor of a break in. I wanted to wait for you outside.”

 

During most of the car ride, Lance saw trees, grass, sand, things that he was used to. Until tall rectangular things started to appear, the floor the car and other hundreds of cars were going through was black and looked like a tough material. But what really got Lance's attention was all the lights and different colors all around. They made the place seem disorganized, but if you looked carefully, you could tell that was far from the truth. The place was beautiful. Lance couldn't help but place both hands on the window and look outside in amazement. He saw Keith reflected on the window smiling at him.

 

When they got out of the car, they went to a place that Shiro had called  _ a coffee shop _ . There were tables all around, some of them had humans and Lance noticed that every single one of them was eating or drinking something.

 

There, Keith and his friends talked to another human that also seemed quite nice. Then they sat down at a table next to a window.

 

Not much later another human left drinks and food on their table. Keith’s and his friends’ drinks had a light brown color, but Lance's was just milk, though it tasted a bit weird. Then he noticed he also had food because Keith had the same thing and was eating it. Lance examined it closely. It was of a dark brown and Lance thought that it looked like dirt compressed into a weird looking ball. Keith called it a muffin.

 

Lance decided to give it a try. And he couldn't describe the flavor, but it was one of the best things Lance had ever eaten. If he and Keith found out a way for Lance to go back to the forest, he was bringing Hunk one of these.

 

When they got out of the coffee shop, Matt ran towards another place. The inside didn't have as much light or windows as the coffee shop, but it was filled with lights and weird rectangular things that seemed to be made out of technology. 

 

All of them followed Matt to one of those technology things. This one had two squared floor extensions with smaller squares of blue and pink colors and different arrows drawn on them. Matt jumped onto one of the squares, and as he pointed to the other one, he looked straight at Lance.

 

“I challenge you.”

 

Lance immediately grabbed hold of Keith's hand. Matt decided look instantly changed as he saw Lance's reaction.

 

“Hey, hey, it is a friendly challenge.” Lance stayed silent, and Matt spoke again. “Have you ever played this before?” 

 

Play? Lance looked at the strange thing trying to see if there were any similarities with any game he knew. There weren't so Lance shook his head.

 

“Then you're playing now, prepare yourself because this is a life-changing experience. Alright, you see there are arrows on the floor right? Well, on the screen there are going to appear arrows on different directions, and you have to step on the ones on the floor in the order they appear on the screen to the rhythm of the music. Got it?”

 

Lance nodded, seemed simple enough. He let go of Keith's hand, who smiled at him and then stepped on one of the squares. Matt stepped a couple of times on the floor and then a song started playing. 

 

Lance failed the first couple of arrows but he didn't take long to follow everything correctly, and in a few seconds the song was accompanied by the word 'perfect’ sounding every time Lance moved and without noticing a broad smile appeared on his face. This was the most fun Lance had had in a long time; he wished fairies had these things too.

 

The song ended, and the strange thing announced that player two had won. And that was Lance. He jumped in excitement and looked at Matt, his competitive nature replacing his nervousness.

 

“In your face, loser!” 

 

That instantly made the other three laugh, and Matt was trying not to, but a smile was evident on his face.

 

“I obviously let you win.”

 

“No, he didn't. And you're my favorite here now for calling my brother a loser.” Pidge laughed, and Lance smiled at her. 

 

He was happy and all the tension he had been accumulating during the whole day was gone now. He looked at Keith just standing there smiling and suddenly Lance wanted him to have the same fun as he did. So he took him by the hand and pulled him close. Keith's eyes widened at that, and a light blush appeared on his face.

 

“I want to play against you.”

 

“No, no. I'm not good at this.” Keith shook his head as he spoke and Lance pouted at him. “Fine, fine.” Keith took Matt’s place and chose a song.

 

As soon as the song started Lance noticed that what Keith had said was true; he was not getting anything right. Lance felt bad; he wasn't going to have any fun like that. So he stepped out of his square and onto Keith's. The boy looked at Lance confused.

 

“You're going too fast, that's why you miss. I'll show you how, follow my lead.”

 

Lance took both of Keith's hands, and the red on Keith's face was now more evident than before. Lance thought that flustered Keith was really cute.

 

At the same time as Lance glanced at the screen he pulled Keith towards the arrows he needed to press, and after a while, Keith was able to catch up to the rhythm. Lance satisfied went back to his square. Though he was too late and end up losing. But Lance didn't mind.

 

“Look, Keith, you won!”

 

Keith smiled softly at him, making something flip inside Lance's stomach. “It was just because of you.”

 

Suddenly Shiro's head popped between them both. “You two are too cute. I still don't understand why we hadn't heard anything about Lance before.”

 

Neither of them answered that.

 

“Hey, can we go to the library? I wanted to grab a couple of books.” That reminded Lance of the main reason they went there. It wasn't to have fun; it was to find a way for Lance to go back home. He wasn't entirely sure how kids’ books would help him but be guessed it was a start.

 

The rest of them nodded except Matt that complained about how they just got there.

 

When they arrived at the library, everyone went their different ways to look at the books that interested them the most. Keith took Lance's hand and led him to the children’s section.

 

There Keith began handing Lance different books. All of them with colorful drawings and simple text written on them.

 

Lance looked through every single one of them and Keith was right. Humans seemed to view fairies as fragile and kind creatures that were mostly only seen by children, giving the impression that humans didn't really believe in the existence of fairies.

 

And Lance could see why. The actions and drawings of the fairies in these books weren't anything close to reality, meaning that humans didn't usually see any fairies. That's why Keith didn't believe the first letter Lance wrote.

 

But then one particular book got his attention. It was titled  _ My Fairy Friend _ , and it had been published not so long ago. The story it was just like the other ones, short sentences with simple vocabulary meant for children. But the details explaining the fairy’s magic was more accurate, and it seemed to be talking about a river fairy. 

 

Most of the drawings were of the river, glowy jewelry and water altered by magic. But it was the last drawing that surprised Lance the most. It was the drawing of fairy, and it was different from the other books, it wasn’t a tiny girl with wings. It was an averagely sized fairy, with dark skin and long white hair, wearing a beautiful long blue dress that matched her eyes. It wasn’t a very realistic drawing, but Lance could recognize Allura anywhere.


	8. Goodnight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow this is like the worst chapter title so far, I hope the chapter isn't that bad

“We need to take this one.” Lance held up the last book Keith had given him.

 

“Is it because the title calls a fairy a friend?”

 

“Not just that. Look.” Lance opened the last page of the book and showed it to Keith. It was of a girl whose dress had the same color as Lance's clothes when he found him. “I'm pretty sure this is Allura.” 

 

“Who's Allura?”

 

“The fairy princess.”

 

“Is she who kicked you out of the forest?” Keith instantly regretted asking that; he didn't want to make Lance sad again. But Lance just shook his head. He apparently was too caught up with his discovery to take in Keith's words.

 

“No. She would never. Prince Lotor did. You see Allura’s parents died a few years ago and Allura was too young to, like, rule the forest, so her closest family stepped in, that being Lotor’s parents, and then they gave the power to their son instead of to Allura. She's very nice and everyone listens to her.”

 

“So it's really something that she's the one in the book and not just another random fairy?”

 

Lance nodded. “If only I could talk to her…”

 

“I'm sure we'll figure something out. Let's just take the book for now.” 

 

They took the book and when they went outside his friends were already there waiting for them.

 

Lance was carrying the book and when they got close Matt peeked to see which book it was.

 

“Oh shit. It can't be.” That made Pidge look at the book too and she laughed. With that Shiro took a look too.

 

“Oh, I see where Keith got the sudden interest in fairies.”

 

“Do you two talk about mothman too?”

 

Lance looked really confused at that. “Mothwhat?” Matt gasped at that.

 

“Matt, please shut up.”

 

Pidge glanced at Lance curiously. “I'm assuming you two were together when Keith found out fairies don't have phones. Tell me, where did you get that from? Do kids’ book talk about it?”

 

“We just simply don't have technology. So no phones or that game where I won Matt earlier.”

 

“Hey! Wait. We?”

 

“I mean. They. Fairies. Not me.” Lance looked down nervous and Matt laughed.

 

“Oh god, you two are really made for each other.”

 

“I've never confused myself with any magical being.”

 

“No. But you said that if you ever found any cryptid or unusual creature you were marrying them. And if Lance identifies with a fairy; that's a match.” 

 

That instantly made Lance turn to look at Keith. The realization of what Lance was thinking making Keith blush.

 

“For the second time; shut up Matt.” That made Matt chuckle but he didn't say anything more.

 

Pidge meanwhile tried to keep a conversation with Lance.

 

“So do kids’ book have good information about fairies or…?”

 

“This one even though it tells a stupid story, it's pretty accurate when talking about their magic and looks.”

 

“And how do you know that?”

 

Lance grinned. “You could say I'm a fairy expert.” Keith couldn't help but smile seeing Lance more comfortable with his friends.

 

“So that means that you think fairies exist.”

 

“Of course fairies exist. And there are different types. River fairies are the coolest ones.” 

 

Shiro had been looking at Lance for a while and finally decided to say something before Pidge could answer Lance.

 

“Is that Keith's cap you're wearing? I'm pretty sure I gave the exact same cap to him a few years ago.”

 

“Um, yes. I like it so he lets me wear it.”

 

“You must like It a lot, you were sleeping with it. I've been meaning to ask you about that all morning.”

 

“Matt. Third time.”

 

“That's not the third time because you didn't actually say it.” 

 

“Shut up.” 

 

“Yeah, that's the third time.”

 

Shiro shook his head like a disappointed parent and looked at Lance again.

 

“It's time to eat something. You seem to be the only not stupid one here so you can choose what are we eating.”

 

Lance clearly started to panic at the question but thankfully, for once, Matt spoke and distracted Shiro from Lance.

 

“Wow, Shiro. That's favoritism and I can't believe you chose Keith's boyfriend over me.”

 

“I'd choose anyone over you.”

 

Matt gasped and Pidge laughed.

 

“Matt, want some water? That must have burned.”

 

Matt glared at Pidge and Keith seeing as everyone was distracted leaned towards Lance and whispered to him to help him.

 

“If they ask again say you want pizza.”

 

Lance looked a bit confused but nodded anyway. When Pidge and Shiro finished laughing at Matt, Shiro looked at Lance again.

 

“So, what do you want to eat?”

 

“Pizza.” Lance said confidently like if he knew what he was talking about.

 

Half an hour later they were all sitting inside a restaurant. Keith ordered a margherita pizza for Lance and him, not wanting to put any weird ingredient in case Lance didn't like it.

 

When the waiter arrived with their food Keith cut the pizza in portions and Lance looked at it curiously. Then he grabbed a portion and took a bite. He instantly dropped it with a little screech and waving air at his mouth. Then Keith noticed how one of Lance's hands turned towards the bottle of water which liquid moved a little.

 

Keith quickly grabbed Lance's hand to stop him and Lance looked at him confused and in pain.

 

“You have to wait a little for it to cool down, Lance. Here have some water.”

 

Keith poured some water into a glass and handed it to Lance, who quickly took it and drank in one sitting.

 

At the end Lance ended up eating more than half the pizza, leaving Keith with only two portions, but he didn't mind. At least Lance liked it.

 

“Guys, do you mind if Lance and I go back to my house? I'm tired.” Keith said in hope of being alone with Lance to talk about what to do with the book.

 

“We can all go and watch a movie or something.” Shiro offered smiling.

 

“Hm… I want some alone time with Lance.”

 

“Come on. You'll have more time to spend with your boyfriend but we're here now and won't be forever.”

 

“I can't believe I'm saying this but I agree with Matt.”

 

Matt pouted. “Stop bullying me, Shiro.”

 

“Never.”

 

Keith sighed not knowing what to say to that and nodded. He'll have to wait until night comes to talk about the book. Lance looked at Keith with probably the same thoughts as him.

 

They went back inside Shiro's car and Keith noticed how Lance was looking again through the window, it reflecting the amazement in his face. And Keith couldn't stop looking at him. He had the curiosity of a child and Keith found it somehow cute. It was something that suited Lance. 

 

Their eyes suddenly locked in the reflection and both kept staring at each other. Though Keith wasn't sure if Lance was truly staring at him or at something at the other side of the window.

 

They came back inside the house through the back door again. The dog was near when they entered and Keith panicked in case it barked but the dog just ran away at the sight of Keith.

 

Keith ended up playing a movie on his laptop,  _ High School Musical _ because Matt was the only one who suggested a movie. They all sat down in Keith's bed to watch it, Lance looking confused by Keith’s side.

 

Lance leaned forward apparently amazed by the movie. Even more than when he saw the city for the first time earlier. Plus a wide grin adorned his face.

 

“Do all humans sing in highs schools or is it just a movie thing?” Lance asked making everyone turn to look at him.

 

Matt opened his mouth to speak but Shiro hit him on the shoulder.

 

“Whatever you're going to say keep it to yourself.” Matt rolled his eyes at Shiro's words but stayed silent.

 

Keith brought Lance closer to him to whisper an answer to his question that resulted in Lance resting his whole body on Keith.

 

“It's a movie thing.”

 

Lance didn't look at him but nodded and stayed there, leaning on Keith. Not even a minute later a flash hit them both from the side, scaring Lance that wrapped his arms around Keith tightly as he looked at the source of the light. Keith felt his face warm up and looked at Pidge holding her phone grinning.

 

“I'm making this a Christmas card.”

 

“Why are you like this.” It wasn't even a question and Pidge just shrugged.

 

Keith's friends finally left to go back to the hotel leaving Keith the chance to finally talk with Lance alone.

 

“Sorry about today.”

 

“No, it's okay. I had fun. Human culture is really amazing and your friends are nice.” Keith could tell that Lance wasn't lying and smiled. “Can I have more worms? I am hungry.”

 

“Lance, I told you they aren't worms.”

 

“I know, I know, but I forgot what they were called.”

 

Keith made some noodles for himself too and when they both finished eating Lance spoke.

 

“We have to talk to Allura but I can't enter the forest or tell you where fairies live.”

 

“And how are we going to do that then?”

 

“I have an idea and I want to do it as soon as possible. And obviously your friends can't be with us.”

 

“I can tell them not to come tomorrow morning.” 

 

Lance nodded and Keith texted his friends.

 

After that Lance wanted to sleep so they went to bed. Lance clinging to him like the night before. But this time Lance moved a bit too close to Keith and kissed his cheek. 

 

“Goodnight.”


End file.
